Team Sonnet defender Katherine Bailey, right, and Team Bauer forward Meghan Grieves reach for the puck during the second period of a hockey game as part of the Secret Dream Gap Tour, Friday, March 4, 2022, in Arlington, Va. The Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association and the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning will co-host a four-game Dream Gap Tour event in February.THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Nick Wass
TAMPA, Fla. – The Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association and the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning will co-host a four-game Dream Gap Tour event in February.
Four teams will participate in the Feb. 25-26 event at Advent Health Center Ice in Wesley Chapel, Fla.
The PWHPA, which includes women’s hockey stars Marie-Philip Poulin, Sarah Nurse, Hilary Knight and Kendall Coyne Schofield, was formed after the collapse of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) in 2019.
The 100-member PWHPA plays Secret Dream Gap Tour tournaments and games to raise awareness and support for a sustainable women’s pro league that offers a living wage and the competitive supports their male counterparts get.
“Partnering with the Tampa Bay Lightning is exciting for multiple reasons,” said PWHPA operations consultant Jayna Hefford said Monday in a statement.
“They’re a winning organization who have experienced tremendous success in a growing hockey market, which demonstrates both on-ice and off-ice accomplishments – something we highly respect.”
The women have played showcase tournaments in Montreal, Pittsburgh and Truro, N.S., this season, and held an all-star weekend in Ottawa in December.
Another tournament is scheduled Jan. 21-22 in Owen Sound and Collingwood, Ont.
PWHPA members have not joined the seven-team Premier Hockey Federation, which will double its salary cap next season to US$1.5 million per club.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 9, 2023.
